Who Wins
Well… no real surprises at the election results. Ukraine is still on a heading towards Europe. The votes are still being counted, but those who appreciate justice should be fairly content with the results. May Ukraine see moral progress as we clean up the corruption.
The ladies enjoyed their weekend away. Rachel and Abby flew over from the States to minister to the 40 or so ladies who went to Ivankiv, a small town about 3 hours drive away. From reports by different ladies, they were greatly blessed. It’s been a pleasure having these two God-loving ladies come for these few short days.
I guess some of the most welcome news from the weekend was that Ilona became a child of God. She has been a part of the youth group for the last couple of years, and it has seemed that she and her sister, Diana, were close to trusting in Jesus. Saturday, she said yes.
I don’t think we have ever really been discouraged by the student ministry. But moments like these sure made the barren months fade into insignificance. Yea! Ilona is saved! She is pictured in the brown coat here. Diana is in the pink, while Marina is in the red jacket. Out of the four girls, Marina hasn’t acknowledged Jesus as Lord, yet.
While the ladies were away, Elle, Vlad, Sasha and I kept the home fire burning… literally. (Temps have dropped below zero every day the last several days.) Elle found a piece of rope and arranged for the three youngest to be tied up together with the aim being that they would escape by themselves. Then they took it in turns to tie each other up and timed how long it took to escape. I had to take a picture of the three kids on the kitchen stool! Crazy game with lots of laughter.
Two weeks in a row now, Alyosha has come home to visit his family for the weekend. 10 or so of us guys gathered at his place last Sunday before he left and chopped, sawed and carted the firewood they’d been given. It was a good time of achieving a task and just being together.
And Vitya got his notice to report to his local recruitment office last week. Young men are still being called up… I guess the authorities don’t trust Russia for some reason. Vitya probably won’t serve due to his health. (The guy is as strong as an ox, but he has some problem with his back which will mean that the commission will reject him.) He still felt a tinge of uncertainty receiving the notice!
Vlad is working in Kiev and doing well. This week, he is visiting a prison and he will see some of the guys he was in with to encourage their faith. He’s quite excited about it. I’m glad he’s keen to serve!
With the minus 30 degree Celsius winter temperatures approaching, we are so glad to have stockpiled wood for ourselves. As I was chopping the wood, I was taken back to the time when I was a kid splitting wood for our fireplace in Tasmania. Back then, I was sure that it was good for my cricketing skills as it improved my eye. At this stage in life, I’m happy for someone else to do the splitting. I must admit though that it felt good doing it for just a couple of hours.
